Fun and Games on the Computer
Student Life
April 10, 1992

Lorrie Ackerman

      CYBERSPACE -- The church is decorated in pink and spruce, and trellises
of rainbow colors sweep up the walls and wrap around the stained glass
windows. People are taking their seats in the pews, anxiously anticipating the
big event. Today is a very special day in the Church's history: its first
TinyWedding.
      All over the world, wedding guests are seated at computer terminals,
typing greetings to each other. Soon the bride will walk down the aisle and be
given away by Madhatter, a Washington University computer science major known
in real life as Jeff Wolman.
      Wolman is a member of an ever growing population of people who use
computers to socialize. Today he is taking part in a virtual wedding that
exists only in the electronic world of "Cyberspace" and in the imaginations of
the players of TinyTim2, a role-playing game run on a computer at Clarkson
University in Syracuse, New York.
      This game, like many others currently running on computers around the
world, can be played by anyone with access to a computer that is part of an
international network called the Internet. As the players electronically
explore the game's virtual world, they are free to talk to, interact with, and
even marry or murder any other players they chance to meet.
      These multiple player computerized role-playing games are known
collectively as MUDs. Depending on whom you ask, the acronym stands for
multiple user dimension, dungeon, or dialogue.
      MUDs can be thought of as the electronic equivalent of childhood make-
believe games. "It's like the games children will play," explains Marc
Wallace, a Washington U. math and physics double major who used to run a MUD
game on a Washington U. computer. "After you're about 12 or 13 you usually
stop playing these games." However, Wallace says, people of all ages play MUD
games.
      "I enjoy the idea of being able to cast spells or teleport from place to
place without plodding there step by step. I'll probably never be able to do
this in reality," he explains.
      But Wolman points out that the virtual world of MUD games is often
similar to the real world. "The VR [virtual reality] life mimics real life in
more ways than you would think. Some people take it extremely seriously; other
people say it's a game. I just play it and that's it," he says.
      Like the childhood games, MUDs allow players to create and explore their
own make-believe worlds. On some MUDs players battle monsters in underground
caves and fight for their lives against opposing players; on other MUDs,
particularly those in the Tiny and Teeny family, murder is prohibited and the
players spend most of their time socializing with each other through chance
meetings and organized electronic parties.
      Julie Smith, a Washington U. math major, looks down on the happy-go-
lucky environment of social MUDs, preferring to spend her time in more
treacherous worlds where her character can do things she would not do in real
life. "If I'm on a MUD I'm usually running around killing things," she
explains.
      But Wolman enjoys exploring the MUD worlds with a character who acts
much like himself. "I'm basically me in my characters. Other people are not--
they want to be something else," he says.
      All three students say they have friends from around the world whom they
met while MUDding. "I know hundreds of people on the net who I call my
friends," Wolman says. "You have the ability to meet lots of people that you
may not ever get to talk to otherwise. There are people who fall in love and
start relationships like this."
      Another Washington U. computer science major, Pam Kornreich, met her
boyfriend, Scott English, through the Internet. Although she spends several
hours a day conversing with him through MUD games and electronic communication
programs, Kornreich has never met English in person.
      Kornreich said she began an electronic dialogue with English because she
saw him logged into a computer she was on and noticed he was at the University
of Newcastle in Australia. Her mother was planning a trip to Australia and had
some questions about the country. After English answered these questions, the
conversation turned to other topics.
      Kornreich said English sent her his silver bracelet and she sent him her
high school ring. They will meet in Australia over winter break.
      The couple spends much of their free time conversing over the computer.
Kornreich says time zone differences make this difficult. "I'm on Australian
time, which [is really bad] for me because all my classes are at the wrong
time," she says. "On the weekends I go to sleep at 4 in the morning and sleep
until 5 in the afternoon."
      "People say I'm totally nuts. `How can you have a relationship with
someone you've never met who's 10,000 miles away?' But when we're on the
computer it's like he's right there in the next room."
      Kornreich says she enjoys meeting people over the computer. "On a
computer you don't have to worry about what you're wearing or what you look
like. You don't have to put up a facade," she says. "You can make better
friends. You don't have any of those superficial things to think about."
      She says a computer date is less stressful than a date in real life.
"Going out on a date in real life--where the guy will generally meet you and
pick you up and you'll go out to dinner or to a movie--there's generally a lot
of tension. When you're on a computer you don't have the usual pressure of 'Oh
my God, I've got to get ready, I've got to put on makeup, I've got to do my
hair."
      In addition, Kornreich says, computer dates are safer than real life
dates. "With a guy you meet here you don't know much about him. You don't know
if he's a real sleeze," she explains. "On the computer there's no danger to
you....But if you're on a date and you're in somebody's car you really can't
just jump out of the car."
      But what can you do on a computer date? Kornreich said the options
include MUDding, sending electronic mail, or running an electronic "talk"
program.
      Electronic mail, known as E-mail, allows a computer user to type a
letter and have the machine deliver it to one or more other users. If the
recipient is not using the computer when the message is delivered, he or she
can retrieve the message later from an electronic mail box. After reading the
message, the user can delete it, print it out, or save it electronically for
future reference.
      Computer users can send E-mail to anybody who has an account on their
computer or on a computer that can be reached through the network. Most
universities and research laboratories are connected to the Internet network.
In addition, there are several commercial networks that offer E-mail services
as one of their features.
      Electronic "talk" programs allow computer users to have an interactive
conversation with each other. In one common program for a two-user dialogue,
the computer screen is split into two regions called windows. The conversants
each see their own typing in the top window and the other person's typing in
the bottom window.
      Another program called Internet Relay Chat, or IRC, facilitates
conversations between many users. In this program, each user's typing is
preceded on the computer screen by that person's name. IRC functions much like
an electronic party line.
      Ian Flanigan, a Washington University computer science major who has met
people from around the world over the computer, says he "listened" to the IRC
reports of several Israelis during the Persian Gulf war last year. "There were
actually people in these sealed rooms with their gas masks on saying they
heard explosions every now and then," he says.
      Flanigan says he also uses the computer to communicate with friends from
high school. "My chance of sending someone a letter with E-mail is a lot
better. I don't have to go anywhere and get a stamp or anything," he explains.
      Another Washington U. computer science major, Miranda Flory, says she
has stayed in touch with only those high school friends who have computer
accounts. "I've fallen out of touch with those who don't have E-mail
addresses, because most of them do. It's easier and a lot cheaper," she says.
      In fact, many people who have accounts on a university or business
computer can send E-mail, talk, or MUD for free. The fees for using these
services are paid by the institution that owns the computer.
      Smith says she takes advantage of this, "Phone bills are outrageous, but
on the computer it's free," she explains.
      Smith's roommate, psychology major Kristina Sutton, says she regularly
talks to her family in Long Island over the computer. "My family has a
computer at home so I'll talk to everyone at home for free," she says.
      In addition, Kornreich says it is often easier to communicate with
people via E-mail than it is in person or over the phone.
      "It's a lot easier to get your thoughts across to someone you're writing
to as opposed to when you're sitting there at dinner," she explains. You can
go back and edit E-mail. When you're talking to somebody, you can't really
take it back."
      She adds, "It's a lot easier to talk to someone when you write it down.
That's why people keep journals."
      Sutton agrees that it is sometimes easier to express oneself through E-
mail than through a personal conversation. "When you're on the computer you
have time to think about what you're going to say before you say it," she
says.
      In addition, she says she likes the anonymity associated with computer
communications. "People on the computer are more objective," she says. "You
can tell them your problems and not have to worry about seeing them every
day."
      Flory agrees, "On the MUD, the people you meet you probably won't ever
meet in real life, so I'll tell them things I might not tell them otherwise.
What difference does it make? I'm not going to run into them in the hallway
tomorrow."
      Flory adds that meeting people on the computer is often easier than
meeting them in real life. "Generally you don't know many people [on a MUD] so
you'll just `walk' up to them and talk to them. You're not going to do that in
the cafeteria or whatever," she says. "[On MUDs] you sort of get used to
random people `walking' up to you and asking you questions."
      Wallace explains why it can be easier to get to know someone on the
computer than in person: "If you're talking to someone on the computer there
are fewer prejudices and you're freed from a lot of external influences. When
you're talking to people in person there can be a lot of distractions. If
they're really beautiful or really ugly--a lot of things can affect your
conversation with someone else. On a machine all you see is their words."
      He adds, "It's easier to get closer to someone on the computer because
you don't notice that they have annoying little mannerisms. Also the person
you're talking to has a personality they're projecting. Often people will
project a nicer personality than they themselves might have."
      Through her conversations with people she's met while MUDding, Sutton
says she has made many new friends. However, she says these computer friends
are not a substitute for her friends at school. "You already talk to your
friends here, but then you have your friends on the computer too," she
explains. "When it comes down to it, real life is always first."
      Flory agrees, "I think I'd rather talk to a person up front. You just
can't express the same emotions with the type-written stuff."
      But Flory and others agree that E-mail is a good way to stay in touch
with people and contact people quickly.
      Flanigan says he uses E-mail frequently to contact friends and
professors at Washington U. "I send a lot of mail to people on campus because
it's an easy way to get in touch with people," he says. "It's kind of like
leaving a message on somebody's answering machine--only you have a better
chance of getting called back."
      While many people have learned that electronic communications can save
them time, some have realized that electronic socialization can be addicting.
Like many recreational computer users, Smith and Sutton say they spend at
least two hours a day socializing on a computer.
      Wolman, who spends most of his recreational computer time MUDding,
agrees that the pastime is addicting. "I do it sometimes 2 hours a day,
sometimes more, sometimes less. I would definitely say too much for my own
good," he explains.
      But Wolman rationalizes the time he spends on the computer, saying it is
not as dangerous as other addictions. "Some people just use it as an escape. I
suppose it's healthier than some other escapes I can think of, like drugs and
alcohol and stuff," he says.
      Flanigan, who says he spends at least 10 hours each week socializing on
a computer, says computer games and chats are good study breaks. He says he
used to play a game similar to twenty-questions with other IRC participants.
"Most people aren't awake at 2 or 3 in the morning. If you're doing work it's
a lot easier to go into anther window and play a game for a few minutes than
to hunt down five or six people and play charades."
      Currently his favorite game is NetTrek, a multiple player computer game
based on the Star Trek television series. "It's like a big arcade game with
other people all playing at the same time," he says.